St Matthew’s in Taita responded to the Covid-19 lockdown quickly. “We were up and running straight away with 3 to 4 house-groups,” says Robyn McClay, the missioner at the church. Many members of the congregation are less comfortable with digital technology, which made things harder initially. Still, the small groups have been strengthened by the crisis.

One group formed a network of Christians in their street, while Robyn and her husband have been talking to people who had left Christianity and are now interested in faith again.

One of the main outreach efforts the parish undertakes is a food bank. As this was an essential service, the operation continued to run throughout levels 4 and 3. Hutt City Council gave a grant to help keep the food bank running, as well as the use of an electric vehicle for delivery. “God provides no matter what the situation is,” Robyn says. “In the first week [of lockdown] we didn’t have any money; then with great joy we were able to continue.”

She and her husband David have been the main people running the food bank during the lockdown period, although normally there are a number of volunteers. They pray over the food before distributing it. “People [food bank clients] know that I will pray with them, that I will sit and talk to them—and they ask for that,” Robyn says.

The shift in the food bank operational model—from people coming to pick things up, to the church now dropping food off—has changed the dynamic between volunteers and clients. “Seeing [people] in their homes continues to strengthen the relationship,” Robyn says. Chiefly, Robyn asserts, the Covid-19 crisis has taught the St Matthew’s parish how to better notice those on the “fringes” of the church—the curious, the hopeful, the unsure—and “hook them in” to the life of the parish. “We have a group of very committed people,” she says.

By Shanti Mathias